BALTIMORE COUNTY — New Year’s Eve is right around the corner, and many may be ready to get out there and celebrate with a countdown and drinks, but if you toast too many glasses of champagne, do you have a planned ride home?
Whether you're out and about with friends and family or having your own celebration to countdown into the new year, the Maryland Department of Transportation wants to make sure you make it home safe.
MDOT is looking to help Marylanders make good decisions this New Year’s weekend by offering a $20 Lyft rideshare credit.
Made available through a grant from the Governors Highway Safety Association, the credit started Thursday and will run until January 2.
But check your clock, the credits are only available for use from 4:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m.
With recent robberies of rideshare drivers and riders, some people in Baltimore County feel on edge about using the service.
RELATED: Police make 6 arrests tied to 12 separate rideshare robbery cases
They say they have a plan in place to ensure their safety before hopping in someone else's car.
"Inside find my iPhone it gives you [options] to like find your location, so I definitely share my location with my boyfriend, and my friends ,and my family so that's how I usually keep tabs on it,” said Sandria.
"Make sure the person who is picking [you] up is the person you are getting in the car with. Confirm the license plate, make sure its the same make, model and everything. Sometimes you should try to avoid cars that are tinted,” said Ceope Adeoye, rideshare user.
Officials say from December 1-26 of this year, there have been 975 people arrested for a DUI in the state of Maryland.
To help enhance roadway safety this weekend, the Maryland State Police will have extra troopers on patrol in hot spots to check to impaired drivers.
"For many people this will be the first time they've been out and about on New Year’s Eve since the pandemic, so we anticipate even more people than have been out the past couple of years. We'll have DUI saturation across the state, each barrack has an individualized plan,” said Ron Snyder, who is the spokesperson for Maryland State Police.
To redeem the $20 credit, open the Lyft app, choose payment from top left corner, scroll to add Lyft pass.
Put in the code NYEMAKEAPLAN2023 and the credit will be added to the account.
MDOT says each rider is limited to one credit throughout the campaign.
Here is the full list of what areas each MSP barrack is focusing on this weekend:
- The Waterloo Barrack will focus on crash reduction and DUI enforcement efforts on Interstate-70 and Interstate-95 in Howard County.
- North East Barrack troopers will focus their DUI saturation patrol efforts on US Route 40, Maryland Route 272 and Maryland Route 273 in Cecil County.
- Westminster Barrack troopers will be focusing on DUI enforcement efforts throughout Carroll County, specifically on Maryland Routes 140 and 26.
- LaPlata Barrack troopers will be focusing patrol efforts in Waldorf, Maryland, specifically on US Route 301 and Maryland Routes 5 and 228.
- Easton Barrack troopers will focus efforts on DUI enforcement specifically on US routes 50 and 404. Additional grant funding will focus on DUI enforcement in Talbot and Dorchester County.
- Annapolis Barrack troopers will focus efforts on DUI enforcement on Maryland Route 50 and I-97, specifically areas identified as hot spots, while also assisting the Annapolis Police Department with Annapolis “First Night" activities.
- Troopers from the Forestville Barrack will be working DUI Saturation Patrol in designated hot spots, with a focus Route 5 and I-495 within southern Prince George's County.
- Troopers from the Hagerstown Barrack will be focusing on impaired driving throughout the holiday. Additional troopers will be working grant funding concentrating on speed and impaired driving on I-70 and I-68.
- Troopers from the Centreville Barrack will be patrolling US Route 301 and the US Route 50 corridor with a focus to include aggressive driving and DUI enforcement.
- Berlin Barrack troopers will continue aggressively patrolling Worcester County for impaired/distracted driving, with an emphasis in West Ocean City, Ocean Pines, and Route 50 throughout Worcester County.
- McHenry Barrack troopers will concentrate efforts on DUI enforcement and crash prevention through the holiday weekend in Garrett County. They will be focusing efforts on I-68 and Route 219.
- Troopers from the Princess Anne Barrack’s enforcement activities will consist of DUI saturation patrols, primarily along US Route 13 and Maryland Route 413.
